Pages

Labels!

Featured Post

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Thecustard Chats with Kimberly Nixon of Kidnap & Ransom, ITV

This Thursday sees the return of Trevor Eve as no nonsense hostage negotiator Dominic King in the second series of ITV's Kidnap & Ransom. This 3-part drama is set in India and sees Dominic desperately trying free tourists being held hostage on a tour bus.. The series is exciting, intriguing and action packed. I recently spoke to actress Kimberly Nixon about her character Flo who quickly becomes a crucial part of the 3-part drama about what it was like shooting on a cramped bus in the blazing sun and her recent success in Channel 4's student comedy Fresh Meat.Click Play to watch a clip from episode 1

Did you shoot in India?No Actually we shot in Cape Town so its really good you couldn't tell.

Oh Cape Town so how did filming there differ from the UK shoots you've worked on?It didn't massively differ. Obviously the terrain and weather is very different but they did a fantastic job with the set dressing and everything so its great you couldn't tell.

Flo is your average Hostage.

Your character Flo at the beginning just appears to be another hostage on the bus but by the end of the opening episode you start to wonder who is she really is. What can you say about her?

Well she's kind of the bus by accident she wasn't meant to be there. She's asked last minute and sort of goes with the flow. Then this hijacking happens and because of who she is and her connections she has to act really quickly and keep her real identity a secret from the hostages on the bus and from the hijackers because it could cause real problems.

What kind of person is Flo because she struck me as someone who takes risks but can also take charge?Yes. I think she finds out things about herself in that situation that she didn't know before. I don't think she realises how strong she is but when faced with this hostage situation things come out of her that she didn't know were there. She's in India trying to find out more about her mum who passed away when she was younger and this is the trip that her mum took so she's on it as a slight pilgrimage really.

Kimberly Nixon in Kidnap & Ransom

Not only is she trying to protect herself but she's also trying to keep her identity a secret from the other people on the bus was that a challenge for you sort of acting within acting?Yes it was difficult because she can come across as quite selfish at times but its because she's trying to stay quiet about who she is. She has to make very difficult decsions at times throughout the first episode. She could give herself up and let all the others go but the ramifications of that are bigger than anyone there realises so its really difficult for her.

She's certainly an interesting character what interested you about the script when you first read it?Well I was filming a comedy at the time so it was really nice to get something so different. Its an actor's dream really isn't it to be in something action packed and a bit sweaty. The action in it was something I hadn't done before so I was really really excited and I couldn't believe I got part the really.

The scenes with the hostages on the bus look very cramped and as you say hot and sweaty what was the atmosphere like on the bus?We well shot for eleven days on the bus in very very hot weather and by the end we nearly killed someone! It was incredibly cramped it was an actual bus and you've got the twenty hostages, two people with guns and obviously what you can't see is that there's an entire camera crew on there. So everyone's sweating but it was perfect for the scenes we were trying to create.

Did anyone sing The Wheels on the Bus?I think if anyone had started to sing the wheels on the bus we'd've all jumped or killed someone! I think that would've just pushed all over the edge.

Had you seen last year's series?I was actually in America when it was last year but when I was out there filming I was given a DVD of the first series and I absolutely loved it! It was great to be making it but to see last year's finished product. I thought it was great, really slick and cool and I hope ours looks like that.

What was it like working with Trevor Eve? Is still daunting working with people you've seen on TV?A little bit yeah. Its still quite weird isn't it? Having someone you've seen on screen for such a long time and then suddenly they're in a room with you that's a bit weird. I loved Waking the Dead that's right up my street.

The cast of Channel 4's hit comedy Fresh Meat which will return in 2012

You're probably best known for playing Josie in Fresh Meat. Do you have a preference between doing drama or comedy?Well hopefully I'll never have to choose. Hopefully I can do both. Before Fresh Meat I'd never done comedy before and two of the main cast are stand-ups I remember thinking before we started that I don't what I'm doing. I didn't know anything about timing or anything like that but it was so great. Its so different filming a comedy because you can actually laugh but drama is where I came from so I'm always going to be more comfortable in that maybe.

Fresh Meat will be back in 2012. What are your hopes for series 2 and what reaction have you had from fans?The reaction to it has been incredible and I couldn't be more because we loved making it and we worked so hard making it because we knew it was great and we wanted to make it as great as it could be. I think Josie needs to make some better decisions in the next series but I have no idea at all. Sam and Jessie the writers won't tell us anything!

What do you think made it huge a success? As a viewer you could tell that the cast all bounced off it each other really well does this help do you think?Yes! It was a very long audition process. The producers and the writers really wanted to get six people who were all a bit different, all a bit weird but who would gel and that's incredibly difficult task but they pulled it off. The six of us really adore each other and we had an amazing time and you can't fabricate that. We're all from very different backgrounds but there's something in us as a group and we all love spending time together. You really care for the characters.

When do you start filming series 2?We're filming May-August so hopefully it good be back on the TV in September.

Whenever I ask anyone who works in the industry this question they never want to answer it so.. what do you love and loathe on TV?I love murder mysteries they're my passion! I had the Colombo boxset for Christmas and I love it! I hate things like Question Time because its always people shouting and nothing ever seems to get resolved.

That's because you like murder mysteries and you like a nice neat ending at the end!Exactly! I like one bad person and by the end the of Question Time they're always too many bad people and nothing gets resolved.

Do you have an opinion on British Television?I love it. I'm a real British comedy buff. Things like Fawlty Towers. The Office, Peep Show. That's what made doing Fresh Meat so daunting as we've such a good history of comedy you want to be able to carry on the trend.

What else are you working on the moment?I've got two films out in the spring. One's called Hunky Dory with Minnie Driver and another film called Elfie Hopkins with Jamie Winstone.